The Story

The Inspiration Behind Our Exclusive Range

Mark Hobson

I attended All Saints Anglican School at Mudgeeraba graduating Year 12 in 1996. When my Nan passed away, Dad (Terry) felt that her funeral was very impersonal, and asked me if I was interested in starting a funeral home and working along side him. He felt Funerals could be conducted with more compassion, allowing families to have more involvement in personalizing their loved ones final goodbye. In 1997 we registered the name “A Gentle Touch Funerals”. Dad (Terry) and Mum (Robbie) are still active in the business, and I work with my wife (Jamie).

A Gentle Touch Funerals strives to make each funeral service all about the person we have the privilege of looking after, along with the involvement with their families. I have always tried to be progressive with the latest ideas to make our company more unique and that’s where Expression Image-Wrapped Coffins captured our attention. Ashton Manufacturing had come up with the idea of images on coffins a few years before I started taking it onboard and they have worked very hard to put a great range together. Having a passion for photography and living on the Gold Coast, I wanted to produce, our own Exclusive Range. Collecting inspiration from local well known areas. I also enjoy the challenge of capturing photos and I created our own Exclusive Range of Image-Wrapped Coffins.

The photos that I take to use in our Exclusive Coffin range are photographed in HDR (high dynamic range). HDR is a process that will capture 7 images of the same scene. These 7 images are then blended with a number of computer programs and most of my images take a few hours to edit with the final result making it feel like you are actually there, enjoying the beauty of nature. Since creating our Curtis Falls Coffin design, I continued to produce a wide range of other Gold Coast areas. I have now also started designing Expression Coffins that feature historical photos from all different areas within the Gold Coast. I can individually design coffins and cremation urns with a person’s hobby, their passion, a favorite holiday destination, or photos of their family placed on a beautiful background. The possibilities are endless and are limited only by your imagination and they make a lasting memory. I am grateful that I can combine my passion for photography, to produce coffins that are exclusive to A Gentle Touch Funerals.